Monday, November 4, 2013

Secure your iOS7 Lock Screen

I was never a fan of putting pass codes on my phone, mainly because I have never put anything important into it, or surf into sites that will reveal my bank account numbers for example. Apple has finally persuaded me to put a pass code because the fingerprint sensor on the iPhone 5S is pretty cool and pretty darn works most of the time at almost any angle, at least for me.

However, if you are the kind of person who puts important things into your phone, do take note that in iOS 7, you are able to access notifications centre (i.e. swipe down from the top) and control centre (i.e. swipe up from the bottom) from your lock screen by default.

Translated, that means anyone can read your calendar (e.g. the meeting name), reminders (e,g, the brief description), and turn on your airplane mode without knowing your pass code. Personally, I'm comfortable with people reading my calendar but I draw the line at people turning on the airplane mode. The reason is very simple. If I ever lose my phone, the "Find my iPhone" capability only works if my data connection is on. If someone snatches my iPhone and immediately turn on the airplane mode without even going pass the pass code security, and that person can take their time to break into the iPhone. That, I am not comfortable with.

If you're concerned about someone reading your calendar directly at the lock screen without going through the pass code, just do the following to turn it off:

Tap on Settings

Tap on Notification Center

Turn off the Today View by swiping the toggle button to your left, under the section Access on Lock Screen.

If you wish to even secure all the iPhone notifications, you can also turn off the Notifications View in the same section by doing the same.

To turn off the control centre in the lock screen, just do the following:

Tap on Settings

Tap on Control Center

Turn off the Access on Lock Screen by swiping the toggle button to your left